She had gotten far too acclimated to the idea of sitting there for hours waiting for the landlady to call someone to let her in, so when he started to ramble instead of turning his back on her, Kailee paused. Usually, this would mean ulterior motives, but he seemed far too hopeless for that. Kai watched him, as if inspecting for weak spots and sizing him up for a fight. Her ego told her that if it came down to it, she could take him.
His hand was outstretched, offering her not just a boost, but a chance to turn this horrible week around. Maybe she was just being optimistic. Either way, she reached, grabbing it firmly and standing to her full height. Mind you, her full height wasn’t exactly all that tall, she still had to look up to see him.
The offers of fridge-bound take out and some company made Kailee grin a little. “Sounds like the contents of my apartment.” It was true. She didn’t exactly know how to shop like an adult, so she had made friends with most of the delivery guys in the area.
"Nice to meet you, Peter, even if it’s not in the best of the situations. I’m Kailee—-Kai is fine, though." It had become a reflex. Shorten her name, shorten the commitment anyone had to make to acknowledge her. It was bad enough he had decided to let her in, in the first place.
"And if the landlady asks, I definitely was not the one to key her stupid ferrari.”
There was a light pull at the corner of his lips as she took his hand. Even if it was for a brief moment in time, he couldn't help but to revel in the warmness that came with the contact. It had been far too long since he let himself feel anything but the freezing of despair that followed him through thick and thin. He spent far too many days wallowing in loss, swimming chin deep in the reality of life and death. There seemed as if there was no escape from the latter, regardless of how hard the supposed 'Hero' tried.
❝ Kailee? Cu- cute name. ❞ Abashed, color seeping into cheeks, he let his hand drop away from the other- focusing his attention on unlocking the door before the pair. ❝ I'll be sure to uh, direct the landlady to our glorious neighbors. Maaan, you'd think seeing the sock every evening you come home would be bad enough. But no! It's like they wear earplugs or something---- or at least I should start wearing them. I mean--- c'mon. When I want to watch the T.V, I can only watch the stations with subtitles! ❞
The lock clicked, hidden only by the awkward laughter that followed Parker's banter. When he was decked out in spandex, boy he could speak his mind like a true fearless soul. He could crack as many jokes as he wanted to, make as many puns that swam through his head. He was, if anything, a true conversationalist. But take that suit away from him . . . he was just awkward. A brainiac. Socially inept.
It made sense why he only had Gwen and Harry.
Now all he has is an obituary and an enemy . . .
Pushing the door open, Peter waltzed in, immediately throwing his jacket over a small back pack; its red and blue contents now hidden by green fabric. The foot table in front of the simple love seat was covered with piles and piles of opened books and scrawled notes (both contained information on reptiles; lizards to be exact, as well as electrical currents and genes (mostly dealing with splicing, slicing, and converging.).) Some pages were highlighted, others were sharpied to death.
The counters in the kitchen still held the remains of breakfast; a syrupy disaster of blackened waffles.The only other room besides the large loft they now stood in and the bathroom, was his own bedroom- the door cracked open to reveal a collaged map trying to pinpoint true identities of infamous Super-Villains in the metropolitan area.
And of course, every other available surface (including most of the love seat) was covered in piles upon piles upon piles of comic books. Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Fearless Defenders---- the list went on and on.
❝ Sorry about the uh, about the mess. ❞ He shot the other a shy smile, moving forward to kick the bedroom door close with his heel. "I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that I- I don't really get company. Like . . . ever. Yeah. ❞